Texas Style

Another website that investigates the “Gulen-inspired,” charter schools and their activities in the United States, published a rather telling article about Texas politicians and political contributions given to their campaigns, courtesy of the "Gulenites"And some of those same Texas politicians must have an affinity for tea and baklava, because they certainly have taken advantage of the Turkish travel industry -- also known as --The Institute of Interfaith Dialog (I.I.D.), Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians (TCAE), and the Raindrop Turkish House (a.k.a. Rain Drop Foundation.Now it is becoming much clearer as to why Texas hosts the most “Gulen-inspired,” schools in the United States. We know that Texans likes to boast about doing everything “big,” but political pandering on behalf of Gulen is a living just a little too large for our taste.

The Institute of Interfaith Dialog (I.I.D.), Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians (TCAE), and the Raindrop Turkish House (a.k.a. Rain Drop Foundation) are the main sponsors. This list is just a sampling and is not comprehensive.

In Today’s Zaman, Sep 30, 2010, Saim Orhan, who is affiliated with Samanyolu, a major Gulenist media outlet in Turkey, wrote about his trip to Austin: “Our first stop was the Texas State Capitol, where we dropped in to meet some state representatives. We spoke with state representatives Donna Howard and Eliott Naishtat, both of whom knew a little about Turkey. Howard told us she had a chance to learn about the teachings of Fethullah Gulen, while Naishtat shared stories of his tour through Anatolia on a visit to Turkey and how impressed he was by both the land and the people. // Naishtat recalled his memorable trip through Turkey organized by the Raindrop Foundation and the Institute of Interfaith Dialogue. State representatives from Oklahoma were also in the party with them.” ________

From the website of the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians: “Turkish Delegation meets with Texas state officials.” In attendance were:

State Comptroller Susan Combs

Commissioner of Education Robert Scott

Austin Mayor Lee Leffinwell

Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson

________

Congressman Louie Gohmert attended the Grand Opening Gala of the Turkic American Alliance (formerly ATAF), Washington DC, May 12, 2010, celebrating the inauguration of an umbrella organization with 180 member organizations, all linked to Fethullah Gulen.________

Below are just two examples of the return on investment that Gulenists have received from Texas politicians:

State resolution 85 commending Fethullah Gulen

On January 25, 2011, the Texas Senate passed SR 85, a resolution "commending Fethullah Gulen for his contributions to the promotion of global peace." While most Texans pay scant attention to such ceremonial gestures and would probably prefer that their elected representatives attend to more substantive matters, this resolution was treated as major news by all Gulenist media outlets. For example, Today's Zaman ran a story on it.

The authors of the resolution, according to this Texas State Senate webpage, were Eddie Lucio Jr, Troy Fraser, Joan Huffman, Jane Nelson and Leticia van de Putte. Notice how at least two of these individuals had been on a Gulenist Turkey trip (see above).

From the website of the Azerbaijanian American Cultural Alliance (a Gulenist organization), referring to a Jan 2010 event called "Dialog of Civilizations Platform":

"The honorary guest of the program was Congressman Al Green. He stated the Gulen Movement is a peace movement and the aid campaign of the Raindrop Turkish House for the Haiti Earthquake was something to be applauded.

"Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and newly-elected Houston Mayor Annise Parker also sent messages to the Platform to show their support. Annise Parker issued a proclamation in which she declared 22-23 January as the 'Gulen Institute – Dialog of Civilizations Day'. "